updated 9:49 a.m. ET Aug. 28, 2007

LITTLE ROCK - Larry Coker has one major gripe about his coaching reputation.

“I get a bad rap sometimes around the country,” the former Miami coach said. Anybody that says you’re a ‘players’ coach’ — that’s a negative. You know what, I want to be a players’ coach.

“A coach that cares about whether kids graduate. ... I want to be a players’ coach that makes sure that we compete at a high level ... and a person that really cares about the players.”

Coker, who spoke for about 30 minutes at the Little Rock Touchdown Club on Monday, went 60-15 and won a national championship at Miami, but was fired last year.

His final season was marred by a bench-clearing brawl during a game with Florida International, but Coker’s appreciation for his players was evident even as he discussed that fight.

“It was a total embarrassment for the university and myself and for those players,” Coker said. “The thing that really just eats me up is that the perception is out there that you’ve got a bunch of thugs and bad kids, and that’s not the case.”

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